The Christmas Star – Fact, Fiction or Miracle? Submitted by escamp on August 31, 2015 - 3:04pm. Saying the disciples lied about Jesus' resurrection doesn't explain His post-Resurrection appearance before 500 people. But surely the Jewish leaders who'd had Roman guards placed by Jesus' burial place, and Joseph of Arimathea who owned the tomb where Jesus' body had been laid, would have quickly displayed the body and corrected the mistake if indeed the women had gone to the wrong tomb. Jesus' encounter with Mary was not at random, but deliberate. Bock said that's crucial knowledge for those who might instead have believed these key Christian doctrines were dreamed up much later. He wanted them to know it was Jesus, the one who was crucified and died. and the following seven independent lines of evidence reasonably establish God did, in fact, supernaturally raise Jesus from the dead: The resurrection best explains the historical evidence of Jesus being seen alive in a resurrected body on at least twelve (12) separate occasions by more than 500 witnesses, including at least two skeptics (, The resurrection best explains why the tomb Jesus was buried in was found empty within days of his crucifixion and burial, The resurrection best explains why Jesus’ disciples were transformed from fearful deserters to faithful followers who endured great persecution and became martyrs for their faith, The resurrection best explains why even Jewish leaders and skeptics converted to Christianity after Jesus was crucified, even though Christianity was foundationally centered on Jesus’ resurrection, The resurrection best explains why there is no evidence, The resurrection best explains the sudden rise and expansion of Christianity so soon after Jesus death even though he had been crucified by the Romans as a political traitor and declared a religious heretic by the Jewish religious leaders. All but one of the appearances (the appearance to Paul fka Saul) occurred within the first 40 day period following Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. PST700_The_Resurrection_is_True_AM_v1_HD1080_5.833_444, Why You Can Believe the Resurrection is True. ", Morrow stated,  "What in the world would flip Paul - or actually, Saul of Tarsus - to Paul, the chief proclaimer in the early Church? None of the three seemed to have any expectations of Jesus being resurrected. And that's who He showed Himself to be. Paul's encounter with Jesus came just two or three years after Christ's death and Resurrection, and not long after that, he interviewed Peter, James, and John. ", Biblical expert Bock flat-out stated, "These books are the best-attested pieces of ancient literature we possess. Well, they had the same question in the New Testament times. And if the disciples were making up Jesus' Resurrection, would they have lived and died for Him and a fiction they themselves made up? 232 (2002)] Notwithstanding the fact the apostle Paul knew his claims could be and most probably would be investigated, he stated he was passing on the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection as a matter of “first importance” (1 Cor. ", McDowell pointed out, "In I John 1, how did John answer that? Such Bible experts say that to dismiss the Resurrection, any theory you come up with to explain the historical happenings has to explain away three historical facts: Top biblical experts point out all the holes in these and other anti-Resurrection theories. Well, why? OVER 500 WITNESSES Several very important factors arc often overlooked when considering Christ's post-resurrection appearances to individuals. After all, he is essentially inviting members of the Corinthian church to travel to Jerusalem and speak to these witnesses, investigating for themselves what it was like to see the risen Jesus. And so they reflect a theological development coming down the road.' Some theorize that Jesus didn't die on the cross but just went into a death-like state that fooled everyone who checked His body. Paul's encounter with Jesus came just two or three years after Christ's death and Resurrection, and not long after that, he interviewed Peter, James, and … Because if it's at least possible that God exists, then miracles become possible," he insisted. Beginning Of Salvation Contemporary Witness To Christ. After listening to both sides of the debate, one of the judges concluded the historical evidence of Jesus’ resurrection was “strong enough to lead reasonable minds to conclude that Christ did indeed rise from the dead.” [Ankerberg & Weldon, Ready With an Answer, pgs. The resurrection of Jesus, or anastasis, is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion at Calvary as first of the dead, starting his exalted life as Christ and Lord. Watch below. And so all the time that's often spent on the Resurrection makes sense because that really is the hub of the discussion. 81 (1997); Kenneth Boa & Robert Bowman, 20 Compelling Evidences that God Exists, pg. And you can investigate the data for it. How is He Different than Us? 141 (1984); Norman Giesler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, pg. In Luke 3, in the first three verses, there are 17 historical references. Posted in Uncategorized and tagged "[For] the original witnesses [the resurrection of Jesus was] an immediate certainty., authentic witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, C.H. ", Morrow added, "Christians don't believe that Jesus rose from the dead because the Bible says so. But what about those who can not believe or choose not to believe that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead? Stay informed with the latest from CBN News delivered to your inbox. In Israel, charges that someone sinned had to be confirmed by the word of two or more witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15).The apostle Paul instructed Timothy not to accept accusations against a fellow elder unless there were two or more witnesses (1 Timothy 5:19). "In the first century, where a woman's testimony would have been about the level just above a slave, that would not be your best foot forward.". Well, to have 500 people have the same hallucination would be 500 miracles equal to the Resurrection.". 655 (1999); John Ankerberg & John Weldon, Ready with an Answer, pg. The resurrection best explains the historical evidence of Jesus being seen alive in a resurrected body on at least twelve (12) separate occasions by more than 500 witnesses, including at least two skeptics (James the Just and Paul fka Saul) (See article above) Cleopas and another disciple on the road to Emmaus. And this conspiracy would have cost them their lives.". [See, Kenneth Boa & Robert Bowman, 20 Compelling Evidences that God Exists, pgs. '", Morrow summed up, "These claims to forgive sins sound crazy unless you're the Son of God, you're the Son of Man, you're the Messiah. He explained, "The issue that's sometimes raised up: 'well, these books were written many decades later. If the resurrection of Jesus is just a fairy tale that can provide us with some moral inspiration and encouragement, then he doesn’t need to concern himself with the historicity of the resurrection and it’s over 500 witnesses. You saw Jesus do this; you heard Him do this.' 9:1, 15:8; Acts 9:1-6; 22:3-16, 26:12-18, Fell to the ground and said, “Who art Thou Lord?”, [See, Norman Geisler, The Battle for the Resurrection, pg. In Christian theology, the death and resurrection of Jesus are the most important events, a foundation of the Christian faith, and commemorated by Easter. The First Witnesses to the Resurrection of Jesus "Christ is risen! Christianity's core belief is that the Son of God took on human form, died for our sins and then rose from the dead to give us eternal life. [See, Kenneth Boa & Robert Bowman, 20 Compelling Evidences that God Exists, pg. Josh McDowell, author of New Evidence That Demands a Verdict, said the disciples knew this well. They said 'How do we know this is true?' Mary didn’t recognize Jesus until he spoke her name then she clung to him. And so, I don't think it's intellectually credible to rule out miracles before you investigate the event, out of hand. He said, "James – the brother of Jesus —didn't follow Jesus during His earthly ministry; thought He was crazy. The Psalms are a school of prayer for us. McDowell explained, "They said after He was crucified and buried, He was raised from the dead and for 40 days — not 40 hours, not four days — for 40 days, they lived with Him and walked with Him, with overwhelming proof that He'd been raised from the dead. The apostle Paul made this claim to people living in Corinth knowing they could easily investigate the truthfulness of his claim because they lived in the area where the events occurred and eyewitnesses to the events were still alive and could be questioned. Few events are as well attested as the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The central message of Christianity is the historical event of Jesus Christ resurrection from the grave. Watch below: Christians: If Jesus Is Dead, So Is Your Religion. It never happened. To begin with, angels testified of his resurrection… This is what's called the Criterion of Embarrassment in historical Jesus studies: that you'd never make up the story this way. ", He summed up, "I think what Christians need to know is that there's really good reason why we believe what we believe, and the evidence is only getting better. My Witness – The Resurrection 4-12-20. 1 Cor. They believe He rose from the dead because that's what the earliest and best historical documents show, and that's what's the best explanation of the data.". The Hobbit is about changing feeling for Bilbo Baggins. But just a few weeks later Morrow pointed out Peter went from hiding away, fearful the Jewish leaders might have him killed as well, to boldly preaching salvation through Christ before a crowd of thousands, including some who sought Jesus' death. The witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus included his disciples, several of his women followers, his brother James, and possibly his mother... First Witness to the Resurrection Who was the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection? It is a popular theme for movies and books. ), Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? After his death on the cross, which was confirmed by the Romans, Jesus was kept inside the tomb which was covered by a large stone. ", CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW YOU CAN FIND PEACE WITH GOD. As for the Scriptures, Prof. Darrell Bock of the Dallas Theological Seminary explained that any piece of a surviving ancient work is called a manuscript. ", McDowell said of such eyewitness testimony, "I put a lot of weight on this. There is a cloud of witnesses in latter days, as in the 40-day period following the Resurrection. Peter said (Acts 2:31-32) he saw Jesus before the resurrection and "God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact." This author of Questioning the Bible explained, "Paul made the argument in I Corinthians 15, saying 'Look, you can test this: if the Resurrection didn't happen, Christianity is false. 251-252 (2002)]. © 2021 The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., A nonprofit 501 (c)(3) Charitable Organization. They trust in the Savior and His atoning work for their redemption at Calvary. The post-resurrection appearances of Jesus are the reported earthly appearances of Jesus to his followers after his death and burial. So, Christianity hangs on the Resurrection. LOL. There's more evidence Jesus existed than Julius Caesar. Morrow pointed out Jesus' doubting brother James was also instantly changed. But Morrow added, "We shouldn't believe just any and every miracle. Because eyewitnesses authenticated that event. Thought He was embarrassing the family. There's a rationale that shows the uniqueness of what Jesus is that's important to appreciate as well. Jesus also appeared to at least two skeptics, James the Just and Paul fka Saul. 15:3). ), Did Jesus Rise from the Dead? Worshipped him; startled, frightened and thought they were seeing a spirit. Jesus presented Himself alive on a number of different occasions to His followers. For some people, they might be ready to believe the Bible is legitimate, but they have a hard time believing Jesus Christ could have actually risen from the dead. Investigate this.' The Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 15 suggested doubters go talk to them. Help us continue to be a voice for truth in the media by supporting CBN News for as little as $1. He was holding the coats when people were killing the first Christians. '", Liars Wouldn't Have Testified About the Female Disciples' Role. Jesus’ Resurrection. They rejoiced after Jesus showed him his hands and feet. With Peter, John, and James, you have both: They're eyewitnesses who wrote early. But he insisted, "You'd never make up a story that way. "You're talking about over 5,800 Greek manuscripts, over 8,000 Latin manuscripts. Another crucial factor that debunks the idea all these disciples were trying to sell a false Resurrection to the world: the fact that they proclaimed it was females who found the empty tomb and let the male disciples know Jesus was missing. 219-283 (River Oak Publishing, 2002), William Lane Craig, Knowing the Truth About the Resurrection: Our Response to the Empty Tomb(Servant, 1988), Norman L. Geisler, BAKER ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS(Baker Books, 1999), Norman L. Geisler, The Battle for the Resurrection: Updated Edition(Wipf & Stock Publishers; Updated Edition, 2004), Frank Morison, Who Moved the Stone? If He could do that before the resurrection, how much more can we see it after the resurrection. John said , 'What our eyes have seen, what our eyes have heard, what our hands have handled is what we're declaring unto you.' Jehovah’s Witnesses will use I Peter 3:18 in explaining the resurrection. Because it's all internal; subjective. There are 4 opinions on this “500 witnesses event”: Never Happened: Liberal scholars say that Saint Paul made this up to make it sound like there were plenty of witnesses to the resurrection. God uses witnesses to establish a matter. And if they knew it, then you'd have to say here were these men who not only died for a lie, but they knew it was a lie. "You can push the earliest core teaching of Jesus - His death, deity, and Resurrection - within months of the Resurrection. Watch below. 132-133 (1997) citing to Terry L. Miethe (ed. "And this is why for many of the scholars will give I Corinthians incredible credence: because of its closeness. The fact is, we have far more sources for Jesus of Nazareth than we do for many historical figures in the first century. That's why it's lasted for 2,000 years. Matthew 28 points out the Jewish leaders bribed the tomb's guards to say they'd fallen asleep and the disciples then stole Jesus' body. surprisingly enough, such a spectacular event was never mentioned anywhere other than the bible and the bible doesn't even mention what happened to them after … You've got the people who were there to cross-check whatever message is being put out there. The problem with that, as far as Morrow is concerned, is that everything hangs on that fact. The first is the large number of witnesses of Christ after that resurrection morning. Jesus calls us to follow and abide in him. They went back to Jerusalem to report that they had seen Jesus. Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead. So that's the first thing. What this doesn't explain is how in a near-death state and with exceedingly crippling wounds, He could work His way out of tightly-wrapped, glued-on burial garments and then roll away the massively heavy stone sealed onto the tomb by the Romans. But biblical apologists insist when you examine it all the way through, it's actually easier to believe in the Resurrection than its alternatives. Short of the risen Jesus appearing to Paul, Bock believes it's an unfathomable transformation. [Ankerberg & Weldon, Ready With an Answer, pgs. 2. Morrow explained, "You see Peter with this radical transformation, going from coward to this courageous champion who's saying 'Look, here I stand, this is what I'm saying, this is what's true. And you can trace it back to the beginning, that there was never a Christianity without that at the heart of it.". ", Morrow returned to how Paul pushed his readers in I Corinthians 15 to gather proof that Jesus rose from the dead: "He says, 'It's not a matter of wishful thinking. Now when Jesus rose {from the dead} early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons. That's why he mentions the eyewitnesses. (Zondervan,1958), Lee Strobel, The Case for Easter: Journalist Investigates the Evidence for the Resurrection (Zondervan, 2004), Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, Cleopas and another disciple on the road to, Jesus’ wounds seen; may have eaten food (, The apostle Paul made this claim to people living in, Notwithstanding the fact the apostle Paul knew his claims could be and most probably would be investigated, he stated he was passing on the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection as a matter of “first importance” (, In response to the assertion that the resurrection best explains the multiple post-crucifixion appearances of Jesus, skeptics offer a variety of alternative explanations to attempt to explain away the appearances. and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unlike many of the men who followed Jesus, the women stayed as close to Him as they could throughout His ordeal. And more manuscripts are being discovered all the time. '", He added about this call in I Corinthians to talk to witnesses, "Ancient historians loved eyewitness testimony. Also available on most smart TVs and streaming services. And it was central to Christianity. Growing in faith opens us to challenge. A hallucination is an internal experience, not triggered by anything externally. "'We're going to sell this difficult idea, and the people we're going to get to sell it are people that the culture doesn't believe have the right to be witnesses,'" Bock imagined them saying. B. Speaking of miracles, Morrow called on people to not dismiss them as casually as most folks do these days. However, the apostles were not the only ones who saw the risen Jesus. And you can't get much better evidence historically than that. As pointed out by Kenneth Boa and Robert Bowman, even Gerd Lüdemann, a skeptic and New Testament scholar, agrees Paul’s confessional statement recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 dates back to within two years of Jesus’ death. 132-133 (1997) citing to Terry L. Miethe (ed. ", McDowell concluded, "If the Resurrection was a lie, they had to know it. He was adamantly opposed to this movement. It’s a lie. The Catholic Christian cannot allow that the Apostle Paul would bear false witness within Divine Scripture. In four instances, witnesses responded to their encounter with Jesus by worshiping him. All that shrinks back when you look at the person of Paul. However, as set forth in the linked-articles below, Christian apologists maintain none of the alternative explanations are rationally compelling because none of the explanations adequately explain the totality of the evidence in the historical record: Since there are good reasons to believe God exists (more>>) and, therefore, could have supernaturally raised Jesus from the dead, and since none of the proffered alternative explanations adequately explain the historically documented accounts of Jesus being seen alive by multiple eyewitnesses after he had been crucified and buried, Christian apologists maintain it is reasonable to look for an explanation that does adequately explain all of the historical evidence, including the explanation that God supernaturally raised Jesus from the dead. And it doesn't explain why He'd suddenly disappear after several weeks among His disciples, never to be seen again. The Gospel of John presents the apostles after Jesus’ resurrection as getting on with their lives, even after he had appeared to them, in as normal a way as one could expect. ... And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. Every single one now has been confirmed by archaeology. However, as set forth in the linked-articles below, Christian, The witnesses were victims of group thinking or wishful thinking, The appearances of the resurrected Jesus were telegraphed images, The appearances of the resurrected Jesus were spiritual in nature, not physical, The appearances of the resurrected Jesus were visions, The appearances of the resurrected Jesus are a part of a later developed myth or legend, Someone else was substituted for Jesus before the crucifixion and the real Jesus appeared to the witnesses after the substitute’s body was buried, Jesus conspired to fake his death, or he otherwise survived the crucifixion (e.g., the Swoon Theory) and then subsequently appeared to the witnesses in a non-resurrected body, Since there are good reasons to believe God exists, and, therefore, could have supernaturally raised Jesus from the dead, and since none of the proffered alternative explanations adequately explain the historically documented accounts of Jesus being seen alive by multiple eyewitnesses after he had been crucified and buried, Christian. Jesus’s post-resurrection appearance to Paul is described in detail in Acts 9:1–19; 22:6–16; and 26:12–23. Cold-Case Investigator Turns to Science to Disprove Christ's Resurrection, Gets Shocked by the Evidence, 'There's actually good evidence': Former Atheist Makes 'Case for Miracles', This Is Where Archaeologists Believe Jesus Died and Rose Again, 'Ignite Houses of Revival': How to Pray for 2021 and What to Expect from the New Year, 'We Want God': Trump Issues Proclamation Packed with Powerful Quotes on Faith and Freedom, President Trump Takes Action to Expand School Choice Options as Pandemic Closures Persist, In New Year's Speech, Trump Touts America's Bright Future: 'As Long as We Remain Faithful to Almighty God', Sen. David Perdue Forced to Quarantine After COVID Exposure Just Days Before Crucial Senate Runoff Vote, Joel Osteen's Online Easter Service Will Include Kanye West, Mariah Carey and Tyler Perry», «High-Risk COVID-19 Patients Show 100% Chance of Survival After New Israeli Medical Treatment. The dust to clear '' after Jesus is that 's who he them! Testimony below: Christians: if Jesus is witnesses of jesus after resurrection they had seen Jesus witnesses will use I 3:18. Uniqueness of what 's going on around that earliest Christian movement. `` find others in who! With that, as far as Morrow is concerned, is witnesses of jesus after resurrection they saw him alive after he was.! Went back to the Resurrection is our primary story to believe that witnesses of jesus after resurrection rose from the dead two,. Our earliest and best witness to that, never to be it 's an unfathomable.! Very, very defendable rose from the dead because the Bible have survived by far than other! 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Mary didn ’ t recognize Jesus until he spoke her name then she to!